Weathered Walls
by angelwhisperer
Summary: Freak incidents and disasters are plaguing the globe. With the League off planet on a distress call, the mission falls on Young Justice's shoulders. But something far more sinister is at work, threating to tear apart the world they thought they knew.


This will be my first multi chapter fic. I've been sitting on this idea for a while and finally was able to bring all together. I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: Don't own. Never will.

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><p>"We've received a distress signal from the planet Reproba. We'll need the entire League for this mission."<p>

"Us too?"

"No, Wally. Just the League."

"But we're the League, too!"

"No we're not! What part of 'sidekick' doesn't get through your thick skull?"

"Shut up, Arty!"

"Call me that again, I dare you!"

"Arty Arty ArTY ARTY ART—"

"Will you two SHUT UP!" Connor's resounding bellow cut them off and they fell silent, glowering.

Batman had called the team at four in the morning, raising them from their slumber (with the exception of Robin, who was still up and about) and into the meeting room. He reported through the screen, saying that they had no time to tell them in person.

"I'm leaving Red Tornado with you, against my—"

"_Batman, is that necessary? We've discussed this. You know we can't leave them alone," _a voice cut in from somewhere off-screen.

"—better judgment," he finished, mouth curving into a frown. "And we all know you never make mistakes, Boy Scout."

"_That's not the point, Bru—"_

"You will receive missions from Tornado he deems fit for you. No goofing off. No playing hero."

Conner quirked an eyebrow. "But…aren't we already heroes?"

"You can be heroes without going on suicide missions like the stunt you pulled with Cadmus."

Artemis went to spit a retort, but Wally slapped a hand over her mouth. "Shut up," he hissed. "Do you want him to _eat you_?"

She shoved him off. "You're so stupid."

"You aren't to contact us unless we contact you first."

"Why—"

"And _don't come for us_."

The team looked at each other, confusion written on their faces.

"What's the mission?" Robin asked, ever the perceptive one.

Batman watched him for a moment, silent. "Nekron."

The team's confusion turned to bewilderment. Kaldur opened his mouth to speak when Robin cursed beside him. "No way. How?"

"We have some ideas," Batman replied, giving his partner a meaningful look. "If you don't follow the rules I have laid down for you," he addressed them all, "this team will be disbanded. Understood?"

They nodded.

"Tornado…"

"I will have everything under control," the robot responded.

Batman nodded and the screen went blank.

"There are no missions for you at the moment," Tornado said, turning to them. "I would suggest you return to sleep." The red android left the room, seemingly oblivious to their confusion or unwilling to answer their questions.

A still silence gripped them for a moment, their puzzled faces almost comical.

Wally blinked. "What the hell?"

Artemis scowled and crossed her arms. "What was that all about?"

"He seemed rather tense, didn't he?" M'gann observed, hovering near Connor.

Robin crossed the room to the Justice Mountain mainframe. "Of course he was tense," he replied absently, fingers flying across the screen.

Kaldur stepped up beside him, the team right behind. "Robin, what do you know about this _Nekron_?"

"Nekron is a fear parasite," he said, eyes focused on the screen. "From a different dimension. It feeds off of the fear of death, which acts like a narcotic. Nekron destroyed entire planets that way: killing them and feeding on their terror. A while back it came to Earth, wanting to do the same thing. It almost tore the League apart before they could stop it."

"How did they kill it?" Connor asked.

"They didn't. It was too dangerous. They placed it in a suspended animation at HQ."

Artemis snorted. "And they just _didn't _notice that a space-destroying parasite had escaped from the Watchtower?"

"It didn't escape," he answered. "HQ was destroyed shortly after that, with Nekron still inside. They searched for it, but couldn't find it, so it was presumed dead."

"But it's not dead?" M'gann questioned.

"No. According to Batman, it's been spotted on Reproba. But I still don't get how it's alive," he wondered aloud. "How can something that destructive just vanish then turn up in a completely different galaxy with no one noticing? It's just…not logical…"

"How big is it? Maybe it just snuck through the Guardians of the Universe," Wally suggested, leaning over Robin's shoulder.

The youngest shook his head. "True, that _is_ how he got on Earth the first time, but he would have to feed sometime in the years that have passed. If the Guardians didn't notice, the League would. They've been searching since it happened."

"We could ask Red Tornado?" M'gann suggested. "I'm sure he knows something."

"Even if he did, he wouldn't tell us," Conner answered, scowling. "You heard Batman. He doesn't want us involved. Treats us like babies—"

"Batman is right," Kaldur cut in decisively. "It is no business of ours what missions our mentors go on. If they do not want us involved, then they have good reason."

"Dude, what are you doing?" Wally asked Robin, who was still messing with the computer.

"Hacking through the HQ mainframe."

"Why?" Connor asked, looking up at the screen.

"I want to hear the distress call. They'll have it locked in the archive."

Kaldur shook his head. "No. Robin, we are not to get involved."

"I'm not! I just want to see—"

"You remember what happened last time we accessed Justice League files."

"Dude, you were totally with us on that!" Wally cried. "We saved Superboy!"

"This is different—"

"No it's not," Connor snapped, crossing his arms. "This is just more obvious—"

"Batman ordered us to—"

"Who cares what Batman ordered!" Artemis growled. "I'm not just gonna sit back like a child—"

"Perhaps Kaldur is right," M'gann offered. "We could just wait until they return and ask—"

"And what if they never return, huh?" Wally declared. "What will we do then?"

Kaldur shook his head. "Wally, the League is far more capable than we are in this situation."

"Just like they were with Cadmus?"

"As I said, that was different."

"It _so_ was not!"

Artemis added, "We should at least look into it—"

"No. That is final."

"Who died and made you king?" Connor shouted.

"I am the leader of this team! This is exactly—"

"GUYS!"

They stopped and looked to Robin, who had ceased his diligent hacking. "Guys, check this out." They stepped up beside him and watched the screen, on which was playing the video clip of what appeared to be an earthquake.

"What is this?"

"A news feed. Just in a few hours ago."

He turned the volume up and the reporter's voice broke in through static. _"—unlike anything we have seen here in __**decades**__! You can…can see…there in the distance…the—oh god! The Willis Tower is __**gone**__! It's just been completely demolished!"_

The team watched, enraptured, as the earthquake ripped through the towering city. Between the dust and the shaking camera, it was hard to make out a clear picture. Screams and raucous rumbling nearly drowned the reporter out. _"This is getting really, really bad! It is __**so hard **__to see here…"_

The cameraman could be heard speaking, but his voice sounded muffled. _"Ned, we've gotta get out of here!"_

"_Where—where's the truck? We've gotta—"_

"_Ned!"_

"_Holy shit!"_

Onlookers could see the street cracking beneath them. The building behind the reporter cracked down the middle and leaned precariously. The camera shook violently as it was dropped, showing a clear view of the street and the base of the building.

"_Go! Go! Oh god! Lo—"_

The building collapsed, rubble and darkness rushing up to meet them. There was a deafening crash before the feed broke and the screen became static.

The silence that ensued was oppressive. Eyes wide and mouth open, the team stared at what had once been the news feed. After what seemed like hours, Wally broke the silence. "Where…where was that?"

Robin clicked at the computer again. "Chicago. Three hours ago. This is Chicago now." A picture flashed onto the screen and the team gasped. "That earthquake was a 9 on the Richter Scale simply because there's nothing higher. The official death toll is 900 and rising."

"Oh my god," Artemis whispered, gripping Wally's shoulder without seeming to realize it. "But…I thought Chicago wasn't in a hazard zone."

"It's not. Chicago used to be the third largest city in America. Now…there's nothing left."

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><p>There you go. I'm not sure when I will be updating, but I will try to do it soon. Please review.<p>

Authors note: The planet is made up. That fact will not effect the course of this story, though.


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